Deirdre and Naoise, Before the Sorrows by diddles25 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

I'm just working on this concept, but I definitely want to refine it.

I wanted to capture a moment close to the beginning of their romance, before the tragedy. In some versions of the Ulster Cycle tale "Deirdre and the Sons of Usna", Deirdre and Naoise have children in the years that they are on the run, their son, Gaiar, and their daughter, Aebgreine; Deirdre could be heavy with either of their children.

I've tried to be as accurate as possible with the clothing and hairstyles of ancient Ireland, with a few liberties taken here and there (this is probably in the summer, given their lighter clothing, and Deirdre obviously is not wearing a belt for her léine (tunic) since she's with child)

Deirdre is described in the tale as tall and elegant, "of twisted yellow/golden hair, mesmerizing grey-green eyes, and foxglove cheeks," and "buidhe" ("yellow") covers a wide range of color from pastel yellow to orange, so Deirdre's could be anything from towheaded to strawberry blonde, and "twisted" could either mean that her hair is curly or it's woven into braids or maybe both; “tresses” seems to mean either “hair” or “braids” in Gaelic and ancient Irishwoman generally wore their hair braided rather than loose. I chose to show her with tresses like reddish honey.

For the models, I based Deirdre on Saoirse Ronán. For Naoise, I based him on Eoin MacKen.

I'm learning.